The present invention relates to fluid-operated wrenches or torque tools.
More particularly, it relates to a wrench which has a reaction element and which does not have to be turned over when switching from the process of tightening a threaded connector to the process of loosening the threaded connector.
Hydraulic wrenches of the above mentioned general type are known in the art. One of such fluid-operated wrenches is disclosed, for example, in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,527. The wrench disclosed in this reference has a two-way ratchet which permits the above mentioned retention of the tool on the threaded connector, regardless of whether the threaded connector is to be tightened or loosened. The two-way ratchets used in such tools necessitate further research and development simply because two-way ratchets as they are commonly known frequently cannot be subjected to high force output of many fluid-operated torque wrenches. It is believed to be clear that further improvements of the existing tools would be desirable.